


Hiding in Plain View

by Tsorin



Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Fem!Alibaba, Gen, Reveal Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-18
Updated: 2013-08-18
Packaged: 2017-12-23 20:59:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/931037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tsorin/pseuds/Tsorin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alibaba has been out of the palace for only a few days before she cuts her hair.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hiding in Plain View

**Author's Note:**

> Written partially because of all the pretty Fem!Alibaba fanart and also someone's headcanon that a female Alibaba would end up becoming a prostitute. I, obviously, disagreed.
> 
> Also posted at tsorin.tumblr.com.
> 
> Feedback would be lovely.

Alibaba has been out of the palace for only a few days before she cuts her hair.

Maybe she had been too young before the King took her in. Perhaps her mother and Kassim had shielded her from far more than she knew. But now, as a woman alone, she is the object of gazes from poor young men and old rich men alike. She has her dagger and she can defend herself, but it's annoying and wears her out. So she cuts her long hair off and that, combined with her not-yet-developed body, is enough to convince people that she is nothing more than another street rat.

By the time she gets her first period and her breasts begin to form, Alibaba has learned how important it is to keep her secret. She's seen men take the street girls away. Sometimes they are never seen again. Sometimes they are, but there is a piece of them missing. Broken.

She binds her breasts, keeps her hair as short as she can stand, and looks at girls with the other boys. She finds girls that are attractive, flirts with them even, but never goes any further than that. For four years her secret is safe.

\------

And then she meets Aladdin.

Aladdin, who is open and honest and genuine. Who looks at her with complete trust. Who believes in her when she cannot even believe in herself.

She promises herself that she'll tell him. As soon as they clear the dungeon and get the treasure, she'll tell him.

But Aladdin isn't there when they finally escape. She doesn't know where he's gone. She mopes around for a few days, waiting in vain. She probably would have kept waiting, but talking to Morgiana puts the need to act into her and she sets off for Balbadd.

She considers telling Morgiana before she leaves. Besides Aladdin, Morgiana is probably the closest thing she has to a friend. But she really wants to tell Aladdin first, so she says nothing.

She didn't expect to run into Kassim, although she probably should have. His betrayal still aches like an open wound, but when Kassim tells her about what is happening in Balbadd, she puts it aside to help her city.

With Kassim there, there is no point to the charade. She unbinds her chest for the first time. She lets her hair grow out. It reaches her shoulders, then part of the way down her back. It feels strange, after pretending for so long, but if she is going to come clean as Balbadd's princess, it has to start now.

In the months with the Fog Troupe, she almost forgets about Aladdin. She focuses on the present problems. The longer Aladdin remains missing, the more she begins to believe that he has forgotten her.

The last place she expects Aladdin to show up is in defense of some noble's house. It isn't until Aladdin summons Ugo that she reveals herself.

"Aladdin," she says. "Ugo is scaring my friends. Can you send him back?"

She meets his eyes. She can feel him taking her in. Her voice. Her hair. Her body. This isn't how she had wanted him to learn about her, but there is more at stake than her friendship with Aladdin. She made a promise to herself and to the people of Balbadd.

"I was looking for you Alibaba," Aladdin says as Ugo disappears back inside the flute. "Do you remember that time? We made a promise."

And the look on his face, that trust and innocence, makes her reconsider for a moment. Perhaps she should go with Aladdin. Give up the Fog Troupe. Between her and Aladdin, they would be able to do anything.

"Alibaba," Kassim says quietly.

It hardens her resolve. This is her problem, not Aladdin's. Her foolish actions have lead Balbadd to the brink of destruction and her actions must be the ones to pull it back. It is the only way she will be able to live up to the trust Aladdin has in her.

"Sorry," she says, walking past Aladdin, Kassim at her side. "I can't keep that promise."

She summons Amon's flames and they disappear into the night.

\-----

Morgiana kidnaps her from her rooms and forces her to talk to Aladdin. The conversation is awkward at first. Alibaba doesn't know what to say to her best friend who she has lied to and betrayed.

Oh god, she's becoming Kassim.

Morgiana begs Alibaba for an explanation. Alibaba doesn't know how to start and is pathetically grateful when Aladdin starts speaking first. Aladdin talks about the Kouga clan and all of the friends he's made. In only six months he's grown so much. He's learned about people and what terrible and wonderful things they can do to each other. Maybe, just maybe, he can forgive her for her mistakes.

Alibaba gathers her courage and tells Aladdin and Morgiana about Kassim and Mariam and her mother. She talks about their life in the slums, about their poor but happy life. She tells them about being taken to see the King, the revelation that she was a princess of Balbadd. She talks about doing her best to become worthy and about how her father wished for her to succeed him.

Stumbling through her words, she tells them about how a loose tongue and misplaced trust brought about the destruction of the King and how, wracked with guilt, she fled the palace.

And then they come to the really obvious elephant in the room.

"Also, I'm a girl," she says. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. It just... never came up."

She waits for Aladdin's response, his anger and perhaps hate.

"You look pretty with long hair," he says.

\-----

Sinbad hits on her before she tells him, but whether that is because he can tell anyway or because he flirts with anyone that he find attractive is something she'll never figure out.


End file.
